Commems Collection Modern: 1999 Yellowstone National Park

The 1999 Yellowstone National Park 125th Anniversary Silver Dollar is one of those coins that can cause a bit of a head scratch when the subject anniversary dates are considered.

Yellowstone was formally created on March 1, 1872 when US President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the establishing bill passed by the US Congress. If you are looking to mark the 125th anniversary of the Park, you would add 125 years to the establishing date of 1872 and get 1997 as the anniversary year - so, why a 1999-dated coin?

Things actually started out on track. Proposals for a 1997-dated coin were introduced during the 104th Congress in June 1995 - two bills were introduced in the Senate, and one in the House of Representatives. The Senate bills included a standalone bill introduced by Craig Thomas (R-WY) and a multi-coin bill introduced by Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), Norman Mineta (D-CA) introduced a multi-coin bill in the House of Representatives.

In each case, regarding the Yellowstone coin, the proposal called only for a silver dollar to be minted - no gold, platinum or CuNi Clad coins. Per all, the coin was to have an authorized maximum mintage of 500,000.

None of the bills progressed beyond its Committee referral: the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for the Thomas and Moynihan bills and the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy for the Mineta bill.

The lack of progress did not spell the end for the coin proposal, however.

At the same time these three bills were being considered, a bill - introduced by Nancy Johnson (R-CT) - proposed a silver dollar "in commemoration of black revolutionary war patriots" it made no mention of a Yellowstone Park coin. In October 1996, over 16 months later, an amendment to Johnson's bill - in the form of a substitution - was introduced by Alphonse D'Amato (R-NY). The new bill was a multi-purpose, multi-coin bill that replaced the bill's title of "The Black War Patriots Commemorative Coin Act" with "United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996."

The D'Amato bill included calls for the following commemorative coins:

1. 1997 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Gold Half Eagle
2. 1997 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Silver Dollar
3. 1997 Jackie Robinson 50th Anniversary of Breaking Color Barrier in MLB Gold Half Eagle and Silver Dollar
4. 1998 Black Revolutionary War Patriots Silver Dollar
5. 1999 Dolley Madison Death Sesquicentennial Silver Dollar
6. 1999 George Washington Death Bicentennial Gold Half Eagle
7. 1999 Yellowstone National Park 125th Anniversary Silver Dollar

So, the Yellowstone Park Silver Dollar was in the mix, but was pushed off its true anniversary year in favor of coins with more political clout behind them.

The D'Amato bill was passed in the Senate and sent to the House for its consideration. The bill passed in the House without objection and was then examined and signed in each chamber before being sent to the President. The bill was signed into law (Public 104-329) on October 20, 1996 by US President William "Bill" Clinton.

1999 Yellowstone National Park 125th Anniversary Silver Dollar


The obverse of the Yellowstone Park coin depicts one of Yellowstone's geysers as it erupts. The "Old Faithful" geyser is not specifically identified by the Mint - the Park has almost 500 geysers. One possibility is that the coin presents a composite of several of the Park's geysers. If this is the case, "Old Faithful" is likely at least one of the references used, the Beehive Geyser could have been another - both are among the Park's half dozen predictable geysers.

The coin's reverse depicts a bison/American Buffalo within the Park. In the background is seen the sun rising above the mountains.

The obverse was designed and modeled by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Edgar Z. Steever, IV; the reverse is the work of US Mint Sculptor-Engraver William C. Cousins.

Yellowstone Park "Old Faithful" Geyser

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)

Yellowstone Beehive Geyser

(Image Credit: National Park Service, Public Domain.)

Bison/American Buffalo in Yellowstone National Park

(Image Credit: National Park Service, Public Domain.)


The coin was available in Proof and Uncirculated, with the Proof priced at $33.00/$37.00 (Pre-Issue/Regular) and Uncirculated at $30.00/$32.00 (Pre-Issue/Regular). The coins were also available in a two-coin set for $59.95/64.95 (Pre-Issue/Regular).

The Proof version sold a total of 187,595 coins and the Unicirculated tallied sales of 82,563 units; the figures include the 58,949 two-coin sets that were sold. Individual sales were: Proof - 128,646 and Uncirculated - 23,614. As was my norm, I purchased the Uncirculated version of the coin.


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other modern US commemorative coin stories, see: Commems Collection.